


A Game of Truth

by misbegotten



Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Canadian Shack, M/M, Old West
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 15:01:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18054755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misbegotten/pseuds/misbegotten
Summary: In a snowbound cabin, Vin questions Ezra as to why he's stayed at Four Corners.





	A Game of Truth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kayim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayim/gifts).



> Thanks to [kayim](http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/kayim) for the prompt. So the shack isn't actually **in** Canada, but the principle is the same. Set early season 1.

It did not, as a rule, snow in the territory around Four Corners.

Tell that to capricious Mother Nature, Ezra thought as the first light flakes settled on the path before him. His horse snorted, perhaps as indignant as Ezra himself at the change in weather. Temperatures had been dropping precipitously when Ezra left town, but he had not expected the fine sheen of white that had begun to dust the landscape.

With a nudge of his heels, he encouraged his mount up the path. Vin Tanner, his quarry, was on patrol of the outlying spreads. His route would not be predictable, of course -- routine could be deadly while on the lookout for trouble -- but Ezra had a general sense of where Vin was likely to be at this time of day. 

He was rewarded with a low whistle from his left, almost delicate enough to be a birdcall but distinctive to Vin. Ezra shivered slightly from the cold as he waited for Vin's horse to pick his way towards them.

"Ezra," Vin greeted him laconically as he fell into step with Ezra. Vin was well bundled for the weather. He'd probably smelled snow on the horizon, Ezra thought with amusement, marveling not for the first time at Tanner's ability to read the elements.

"Mr. Tanner," Ezra said. "I'm afraid I come bearing unfortunate tidings."

Vin looked up sharply, obviously prepared for trouble, but Ezra held up a restraining hand. "There is no need to panic," Ezra continued. "Mr. Larabee asked that I inform you of a recent visitor to our fair borough. A bounty hunter. From Texas."

Tanner sighed, and Ezra watched with interest as regret settled over his form like a tangible cloak. Vin wore the bounty on his head with a great degree of reluctance.

"Looking for me?" Vin asked.

"Apparently not. The gentleman in question actually seems to be passing through." Ezra reflected wryly that it was not often the peacekeepers of Four Corners were granted the boon of coincidence. "Nevertheless, Chris thought it best that you lay low for a while."

Vin's lips quirked with amusement. "And you drew the short straw?"

Ezra burrowed a little deeper into his coat. "I was available to deliver the message. I had not counted on the weather to be so disagreeable," he admitted. "Shall we find somewhere to sojourn until the elements have realigned in our favor?"

If Vin looked surprised at the "we" in the suggestion, he did not comment upon it. "Swaggart place is closest," he noted. The family has recently given up on their proposed experiment in cattle raising and moved on to the heady climes of California. "Reckon we can hole up there for a bit."

"Agreed," Ezra said, and urged his horse in the correct direction.

Vin wasted no time in further pleasantries, and it was a short but brisk journey to the homestead in question. As they came upon the cabin, Ezra noted with relief that there was still firewood stacked along the edge of the home's longest wall. At least they would be warm while they waited.

With a nod of his head towards the corral, Vin indicated that he'd bed down the horses. Ezra, careful of his leather gloves, hefted enough wood to start a merry blaze and took it inside the dimly lit cabin. Rawhide covered the windows, enough to keep out the elements, and the thick wooden door would be welcome as night approached. He laid a fire efficiently, and once it had sparked pulled off his gloves with relief.

Vin brought a gust of cold air with him, and the fire danced lightly at his approach. He made a noise of appreciation as it lit his form, and then he tossed in a handful of cow chips that he'd apparently salvaged from the departed herd of cattle. He too removed his gloves, but kept his coat on in deference to the weather.

"Should warm up pretty soon," Vin said. "Thanks for staying."

Ezra regarded Vin with a little surprise. "Did you think I would leave you?" he asked, genuinely curious.

Another smile crossed Vin's lips. "Thought that featherbed of yours might be calling you. Definitely better than sleeping on the ground."

Indeed, the one-room cabin while adorned with a loft, still had a floor of hard-packed dirt. "Yes, well, while I would prefer accommodations of a less barren nature," Ezra said lightly, "I am, as ever, adaptable. Besides, I brought provisions in case you had none. Water. And more importantly, whiskey."

Vin grinned, and together they donned their gloves again in order to fetch their gear from the corral.

*

Vin nearly sighed in contentment as he passed the flask back to Ezra. A fire, a decent meal foraged from their saddlebags, and a slight bite on his insides as Ezra's liquor warmed its way through his system; there were worse ways to end the day. If he was lucky, he might convince Ezra to read a mite from one of the books that he always seemed to carry in his saddlebags. The man was well read, that was for sure.

"Good drink," he remarked, and was amused when Ezra dipped his head in acknowledgment.

"Yes, well, if I am able I prefer to indulge in a finer variety than the rotgut the saloon generally provides." Ezra tipped the toe of his boot a little closer to the fire, from where he was cocooned in his blanket. "I find it makes the resulting headache more bearable."

Vin snorted. He'd never actually seen Ezra drunk, except for the first time they'd met and Ezra had pretended to be far from sober in order to win a bet. "You don't strike me as the type," Vin commented.

Ezra tilted his head, curious. "The type?"

Vin shook his head. "The type to lose control like that," he elaborated. "You know, except for show."

Ezra smiled, and Vin found that he could add good companionship to his list of gratitudes. That smile warmed him much like the whiskey had, and maybe a little more. "Well observed, sir."

Vin shrugged nonchalantly. "It's going to be a long night. You willing to cut loose a little?"

Ezra's smile turned into a grin, the gold tooth glinting in the firelight. "Why Mr. Tanner, what did you have in mind? A game of chance, perhaps?" His hand went to the deck of cards that he undoubtedly kept in his pocket.

Vin shook his head. "I was thinking about a different game. See, I've been wondering why you stuck around Four Corners now that your thirty days are up. I've been, you know, speculating."

Ezra's eyes narrowed a bit at that, but his smile stayed in place. Nobody ever said that Ezra didn't have a good poker face, Vin thought.

"And what are the rules of your little game?"

Vin tilted his head towards the flask. "I guess why you're sticking around. If I'm right, you take a drink."

Ezra chuckled. "So your suggestion is that you ask me, a known purveyor of untruths, questions and you rely on my veracity?"

"I'm willing to trust you."

That gave Ezra pause. Vin couldn't tell exactly what Ezra was thinking, but he'd lay odds, good ones, that Ezra was surprised by Vin's offer to take him at his word.

Everybody treated Ezra like he was always working an angle -- and maybe he was -- but Vin had taken measure of the man. Much like he'd thrown in his lot with Chris Larabee that day they'd made their play to save Nathan from the noose, Vin relied on his instincts. And Vin's instincts told him that there was something keeping Ezra around. It certainly wasn't the dollar a day they earned as peacekeepers. No, Vin itched with the certainty that there was a story there. And maybe tonight he'd get it.

While Vin was musing on Ezra, Ezra's gaze turned speculative. "And if you're wrong, what do I get?"

Vin hesitated. He hadn't thought through the rules of his game. Of course Ezra would want stakes. Good ones. "What do you want?"

Something interesting flashed in Ezra's green eyes. A fire, something warm and wanting. It intrigued Vin. "A favor to be named later."

Vin tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Done," he said.

Ezra let his blanket slide -- the room had warmed up nicely -- and settled himself more comfortably on the hard earth. "Let's begin, shall we? Why do you, Vin Tanner, think that I have remained in Four Corners?"

Vin played his high card. "I think you like being on the right side of the law for a change."

Ezra barked out a laugh. "You owe me a favor, then, and it's going to be long, dry night for me." He shook the flask, shaking his head in exaggerated regret over the drink he didn't get to take. "Indeed, I find the routine of playing within the boundaries of the law somewhat tedious."

Vin played over that in his head, puzzling it out. "You think we're boring?" he asked, somewhat incredulous.

Ezra shook his head. "On the contrary, I find you all endlessly fascinating. Your penchant for lost causes and righteousness is downright inspiring."

"And you don't think that's a little of why you haven't hightailed it out of the territory?" Vin asked pointedly.

Ezra looked genuinely surprised at Vin's insight. He raised the flask in salute. "Perhaps you are right. I believe I owe you a drink, after all."

Vin grinned as Ezra drank, but Ezra's gaze turned thoughtful.

"Nonetheless, I must disabuse you of the notion that I am awash in noble ambitions," Ezra said carefully. "I harbor no such delusions. And however much you might like to think to the contrary, I am simply not a trustworthy individual."

"I trust you to back me," Vin retorted. "Don't that count for anything?"

"It speaks to your generosity of spirit," Ezra said. "But not, perhaps, the soundness of your judgment."

Vin let that pass. There was no point in arguing with Ezra over whether Ezra was a good man. Vin believed in actions, and Ezra had -- despite his grumbling, despite any second thoughts he might have had about doing the right thing -- come through for Vin and the others when it mattered.

"Maybe I wouldn't trust you with my money," Vin allowed.

Ezra looked cheered by that. Vin thought with amusement that maybe Ezra _liked_ being considered untrustworthy.

"Are there any other reasons why you think I have remained at the beck and call of Four Corners' fair citizenry, or is our game at an end?"

"You ain't cut loose yet," Vin pointed out with a smile. "And I'd guess that you're saving your money for something. Something big."

Ezra looked surprised at that. And took a deep swallow from the flask. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and asked, obviously curious, "What led you to that perceptive observation?"

Vin shrugged. "I seen you at the card table. You don't pay for room and board, and apart from that very nice whiskey you don't go around spending lots. I figure you're saving your money for a reason."

Ezra touched his fingers to his forehead, acknowledging the accuracy of Vin's observations. "I have... aspirations... to a place of my own. A saloon, to be precise. Four Corners might be just the locale to see the fulfillment of my dreams."

"Good to have dreams," Vin said, pleased with Ezra's revelation.

"On the contrary," Ezra said. "I have found dreams to be an absolute hindrance at times."

There was something in Ezra's tone that saddened Vin. He'd been enjoying himself in this game of truth telling with Ezra. But some of the fun had died out with that. "What sort of dreams you had that didn't come true?" he asked softly.

Ezra's face had grown soft, his expression open. He shook his head, though. "That is not within the parameters of our game, my friend."

Vin sighed. "Forget the damned game, Ez," he said with irritation. "This is just you and me and bottle of good whiskey."

"If it's good, then I should not abscond with all of it." Ezra held out the flask, shaking it invitingly.

Vin took it, but he marveled at how quickly the temperature of the room had changed. Now he felt the cold pressing in on him. Now he felt the oppression of being trapped. He drank, feeling annoyed at himself and Ezra.

Ezra was quick to sense Vin's change in mood. "I'm sorry," he said slowly. "I didn't mean to dampen the occasion. Let us drink and be friends again."

"Hell Ezra, we're still friends," Vin sighed. "I just wish you felt like you could open up to me."

"It is not in my nature to unburden myself."

"Don't you trust _me_?" Vin found himself asking.

"On the contrary, I trust you to be true to your nature. And I trust myself to be true to my own, which is to say I am ultimately going to disappoint your high hopes."

Vin reached out and grasped Ezra's shoulder, his blanket falling away as he leaned forward. "I think you're being too hard on yourself."

"Whereas I appreciate your boundless optimism," Ezra said. "And, if I may blame it on the drink, I will allow that I also appreciate your company. More than I can say."

To Vin's surprise, Ezra reached out and touched Vin's cheek. It was undeniably a caress, and it startled Vin. Not enough to drop his own hand. Rather, he leaned in to Ezra's touch.

Oh, Vin thought helplessly. _Oh._

*

Vin's game of question and answer had amused Ezra at the outset. He had no scruples about allowing himself to be bound to Vin's misguided belief that he would tell the truth if it suited him to lie. And where Vin was concerned, Ezra had good reason to keep his cards close to his chest.

He was attracted to Vin. There was no denying it. He'd been drawn to the man from the first, cutting as he did a rather handsome profile. Ezra's fingers itched to slide through that long hair, to feel the play of Vin's strong muscles beneath his touch. Ezra knew his own tastes to the letter, and Vin certainly attracted his attention. But now, in the grip of the rather awkward attempt by the man to get Ezra to bare his soul, Ezra was touched also by admiration. Vin was, quite simply, a good man in a way that Ezra had never deemed himself worthy.

Ezra was many things. Card sharp, liar, turncoat perhaps. But dishonest with himself, never. And the thought that a man like Vin could reciprocate his feelings was far beyond his understanding. As Vin tried to chip away at Ezra's façade, however, Ezra found himself entranced. He wasn't just attracted to Vin physically. He wanted-- oh, he wanted everything he had too long been forced to conceal.

Perhaps it was the fault of the whiskey. But more than that, it was the genuine sympathy in Vin's blue eyes that caused him to reach out and dare to touch what he had thought unavailable.

Vin, to Ezra's surprise, leaned in to his caress. There was no disgust in his action, no instant repulsion. Rather, there was a question in Vin's eyes. Another question, for he felt as if all Vin had done of late was lay waste with gentle queries to the vanguards Ezra had carefully constructed about himself.

Ezra tilted Vin's chin up slightly, testing, and to his satisfaction Vin licked his lips in anticipation. He probably did not even realize he had done it, but it was an invitation that Ezra could not resist.

Moving forward slowly, oh so tentatively, he pressed his lips to Vin's. In answer, Vin's hold on his shoulder tightened. And Vin, to Ezra's delight, opened his mouth to Ezra.

Ezra deepened the kiss, his tongue swiping across Vin's, and Vin responded. Hungrily, in fact. Vin had, it seemed, decided on a course of action. And, as Ezra had learned, when Vin chose his path it was with certainty.

Ezra found himself rising to his knees, drawing Vin with him. He put his arms around Vin, running his hands along Vin's back, down from his shoulders to his hips. Vin made a sound like a sigh, and pressed his full front to Ezra's. He was, Ezra was pleased to note, growing hard beneath Ezra's touch.

Ezra himself felt his own cock stirring, and pulled his head back enough to take a deep breath, to find his composure for a moment.

"Mr. Tanner, I would not be averse to continuing our exploration, but I need some reassurance from you."

"Vin," Vin said, laughing gently. "If you're kissing me like that, you have to call me Vin."

Ezra felt laughter bubbling in his chest as well -- it had been too long since he had a playful partner -- but felt the need to continue. "Vin, then. I need to know that embarking on this path will not be a detriment to our working relationship."

Vin leaned in and nuzzled beneath Ezra's chin, causing Ezra to swallow forcefully. Control, he reminded himself. He was not going to give in to his baser instincts if Vin did not understand with certainty the parameters in which Ezra intended to operate.

"You don't want no expectations," Vin said thoughtfully, his lips trailing down Ezra's throat. "No strings."

"I am not the kind of man to offer promises," Ezra managed, stilling his own hands in their path lower down Vin's back.

"You don't want anyone to know you," Vin suggested, surprising Ezra with his perception.

"Except, perhaps, in the biblical sense," Ezra agreed, amused.

"No promises," Vin repeated Ezra's word. Then, his voice low in Ezra's ear, he all but growled, "Just fucking."

Ezra's fingers clenched involuntarily. His cock hardened perceptibly.

"I can do that," Vin said. He breathed softly into Ezra's neck, as if taking in, with his keen senses, the measure of Ezra's want.

"Very well then," Ezra said, his voice decidedly rough with need.

Vin answered by pressing his teeth lightly against Ezra's neck, scraping gently. He soothed the spot with his tongue, then moved across Ezra's collarbone with the same motion.

Ezra felt the fire in his blood singing. He scrambled against the rough fabric of Vin's shirt, pulling it out of Vin's trousers so he could slide beneath and feel flesh against his fingertips. Vin arched his back at the touch, his cock pressing full and heavy against Ezra's hip, and he lowered his lips again to Ezra's skin. It was all Ezra could do not to rut against him in return, and with a shaky laugh he pinched Vin.

"We could do with fewer items of clothing," he suggested.

Vin, his eyes dark with lust, pulled back enough to work his hand between them. "Let me," he said, his fingers on Ezra's vest. "I like the unwrapping part."

Ezra chuckled. "By all means." He waited impatiently for Vin to disrobe him, but once Vin had the buttons on Ezra's shirt open, Vin surprised him by leaning forward to drop lazy kisses down his chest.

Ezra squirmed a bit, his pants uncomfortably tight, and Vin wrapped his hands around Ezra's waist. "Mm," he said. "Told you, I like this bit."

Ezra bit his lip as Vin lowered his head to Ezra's chest again, licking a swathe of skin from his ribs up to one peaked nipple. Vin took the nub in his mouth, laving the skin there, then reached up with his hand to toy with the other nipple.

Vin had on entirely too many clothes, Ezra decided. He fumbled at the fabric of Vin's shirt, then settled on pulling the cloth up past Vin's head. Vin laughed as he shook himself out of the shirt, pulling where the sleeve still hung on his wrist until he was free.

Ezra wrapped his arms around Vin's torso, aligning them from hip to shoulder. He slipped his knee between Vin's so he could press his erection against Vin's hip again, and ran a hand through Vin's long hair. "I have been wanting to do that for a long time," he admitted.

Vin smiled, something tender in his eyes, but the heat of desire was high between them. "You like my hair?" he asked, his voice a bit shaky.

Ezra flexed his fingers, massaging Vin's scalp and then tracing the length of one lock downward. "It is one of your many fine attributes," he answered. Grasping the back of Vin's neck, he pulled Vin in for another kiss while he fumbled at the buttons to Vin's pants. Vin made a sound of needy anticipation when Ezra's fingers touched his cock.

"Ez," Vin gasped, scrambling at Ezra's pants to reciprocate. Quick fingers found their way through fabric, and then Ezra breathed appreciation into Vin's mouth. "Ezra," Vin said, this time more clearly.

Ezra stroked Vin's shaft firmly, spreading the stickiness he found at the head down to ease his way. Vin leaned in, mouth opening and closing in noiseless pleasure, and worked Ezra's cock in a steady rhythm that soon had Ezra's hips jerking. The fire was too warm in front of them, the cold too much behind, and sensation was all. With his eyes closed, Ezra felt rather than saw Vin stiffen under his touch. And then Vin was coming over his hand, and in that heady moment Era's own climax clawed through him.

Panting, Vin dropped his head onto Ezra's shoulder. "Tell me the truth," he breathed. "Did you stay in town just to get in my pants?"

"I need another drink," Ezra said firmly.

Vin's answering laughter was contagious.


End file.
